A permanent digital archive of audio recordings capturing scientific debate, discovery and thought at its most vital — from the lectures and seminars of Penrose, Hawking, Atiyah, Witten and thousands more, spanning over four decades of enquiry.
The Archive Trust for Research in Mathematical Sciences and Philosophy was established to capture and preserve the unrepeatable: the informal debate, the seminar question that reframes a field, the workshop where a new direction crystallises. These are the moments that rarely make it into the formal literature.
Since 1988, we have recorded lectures, conferences, workshops, interviews and panel discussions with the leading scientists of our time. Our holdings date back to 1973 and span general relativity, quantum foundations, cosmology, the philosophy of science, and the history of mathematics.
We are digitising the Michael Wright Collection — 8,145 analogue recordings held on cassette tape and other media — and making them freely available to researchers, historians of science, and the international academic community.
Converting fragile analogue media to archival-grade digital formats with expert care.
OAIS-compliant storage, redundant backups and long-term stewardship of every recording.
Full ISAD(G) archival description with speaker access points, subjects and context.
Freely available to the global research community — no paywalls, no restrictions.
"These recordings provide a contemporary snapshot of the debate and discussion involved in the formation of key ideas — of unique value to historians and researchers in these fields."
Archive Trust Mission StatementThe archive holds recordings of many of the most significant scientists and philosophers of the late twentieth century.
The Archive Trust is a small charity with an ambitious goal: to digitise, catalogue and make freely available thousands of recordings that are unique in the world. Our staged funding target is £365,000. Every contribution goes directly to the work.
Make a DonationWhether you are a researcher wishing to access the collection, a historian of science, or someone who can offer skills in digitisation, archival practice or software development — we would like to hear from you.
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